As Long as You Have the [Shop] Skill, the Dungeonized World Is a Breeze ~The Bullied Youth’s Payback

Chapter 18 – Whitebeard-sensei

I settled comfortably into the familiar back seat of my car and let out a big sigh, wondering if today had been another successful day or not.

“…Lately, you seem to be quite tired.” Sasaki, the chauffeur and butler who I always relied on to drive me, spoke in a worried tone, glancing at me through the rearview mirror.

“No, I’m fine.” (Whitebeard-sensei)
“But you’ve been quite vigorous, working yourself so hard every single day doing hospital rounds and volunteer work. You don’t look too well… perhaps you should take some time off?” (Sasaki)
“I can’t do that. With the world like this, the number of injured and ill people are increasing. I want to do everything in my power to help them. Besides… I have an ulterior motive for going around hospitals.” (Whitebeard-sensei)
“….It’s about Young Miss, isn’t it?” (Sasaki)
Indeed, it was for my daughter, Kanna. That poor, poor child. It was simply incomprehensible that she would suffer such a tragedy and be robbed of the future that she had hoped for.

Three years had passed since then. I had consulted many doctors and specialists for their opinions on the treatment, but all of them had been unfavorable.

Kanna was a cute, honest girl who laughed a lot and took the initiative to help out at home. She was overflowing with promise and had big dreams. But she had lost that in an instant. Only those who had gone through the same experience could understand that shock.

Immediately following the incident, she had cried in her room day after day and wouldn’t even let us, her family, get close to her. Back then, I bought her a miniature dachshund in hopes that she would at least open up to someone other than a human being. It worked, and little by little, she began to talk to us again thanks to her pet, Fuuta.

And now, she had even reached the point where she would come out to greet me when I came home. She would smile, but even still, she had a look of melancholy on her face from time to time. At present, the scars on her heart were probably deep beyond comparison.

It was understandable. She was only 12 years old. She was still in her playful phase, and she should be able to walk and run on her own two feet.

At the very least, if I could find an effective treatment method… If she could somehow walk, not even run, that would be asking for enough…

With those thoughts in mind, I met many people every day, speaking to as many talented doctors and disease specialists, and gathering as much information as I could about medicines and drugs.

I was certainly busy. At times, I felt dizzy and wanted to collapse. But whenever I thought to myself that everything I was doing could potentially pave the way for making my daughter smile again, I could hardly call this difficult.

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“Ah, would you mind making one last stop over there?” (Whitebeard-sensei)
“Are you still planning to work?” (Sasaki)
“I’m begging you. One of the kids who took shelter there recently had a high fever, right? I’m sure it’s just a cold, but I need to check on them again today.” (Whitebeard-sensei)
“Seriously… Master deserves to be called Redbeard.” (Sasaki)
“Haha, I’m not worthy of that name. I’m just… doing what I want to do.” (Whitebeard-sensei)
I suppose I liked people. No, everything that was alive, not just people. Life was a wonderful thing, even simply existence itself, and I wished for everyone to live a life that shined the brightest they could.

That was why I hated absurd deaths and obstacles. Because without a question, they always invited despair. What I was capable of was insignificant, but if I could make someone’s life even a little bit better, I would be happy.

“Master, we’ve arrived at the kindergarten.” (Sasaki)
“Ah, then I’ll be off.” (Whitebeard-sensei)
“Please take care.” (Sasaki)
After Sasaki saw me off, I stepped into the Kikyou Kindergarten. Since it was already evening, it was quiet, but there were many children and parents living under the same roof here.

Most of them were unable to return home due to the appearance of monsters in their houses. Fortunately, there were no monsters in this kindergarten, and it was a fairly spacious place. As such, it was opened up as a refugee shelter.

But there were many children who were still young, and quite a few of them had developed fevers or gotten injured. That was why I made rounds here every once in a while to make sure that the children and their parents were safe.

When I opened the door, the kindergarten principal was working nearby.

“Oh, Sensei! Good evening! I see you’ve come again today!” (Kindergarten Principal)
“Yes. I hope I’m not intruding too much by being here.” (Whitebeard-sensei)
“Of course not! Everyone, Whitebeard-sensei is here!” (Kindergarten Principal)
As soon as the principal called out, the little ones came running over, the sound of their footsteps pittering and pattering on the floor.

“Wow, it’s Whitebeard-sensei!”
“Good evening!”
“Woohoo, Sensei is here!”
The children were cheerfully exclaiming this and that as they came up and threw themselves into my arms.

“Ahahah, yes yes. You all seem to be well.” (Whitebeard-sensei)
Whenever I came here, it always felt like the fatigue accumulated throughout the day was being washed away. The children’s innocent smiles were the most comforting thing in the world.

When Kanna was still a toddler, she had attended this kindergarten. That was why I hoped that this kindergarten would always remain peaceful.

“Come to think of it, how is Ryosuke-kun doing? Has his fever gone down since then?”
I asked this question to the kids that were clinging to me as I patted them on their heads.

“Ah, about that! It was amazing!”
“Eh? Amazing? What was?” (Whitebeard-sensei)
“Actually, Ryosuke-kun had a high fever again this evening, and he was having a hard time.”
“That… is Ryosuke-kun alright?” (Whitebeard-sensei)
“Yes. Right now, he… Oh, speak of the devil.”
The boy who suddenly showed up from the back of the room was none other than Ryosuke-kun. Seeing my face, he rushed over with vigor.

“Good evening, White Beard-sensei!” (Ryosuke)
“Ah, good evening. Ryosuke-kun… are you feeling better now?” (Whitebeard-sensei)
“Yup! I’m good! I ate a toooon of food~!” (Ryosuke)
“You ate a lot of food? …Um, right after getting better, you ate so much?” (Whitebeard-sensei)
“Ah, about that, you see. I really am completely recovered. After I was healed, I could totally just run around.” (Ryosuke)
….That’s strange. No matter what illness it is, it’s impossible to instantly get better.

Furthermore, his fever broke just this evening. There was no way that a child would want to eat a lot of food when only a few hours had passed since then.